The annual weeklong music festival has been throwing very indie shows around San Francisco and Oakland for decades (in the same vein as SXSW, for those not familiar), but in 2016, it wisened up, broadened its horizons, and welcomed new fans into the fold.

Among a handful of changes and innovations the festival made this year was the advent of the Noise Pop Do The Bay app, a handy scheduling assistant with a built-in map and discovery feature. Users could plan out their concert and film agendas, and view how far away venues were from each other.

Golden Retriever and Rescued Tortoise Make the Most Unlikely Best FriendsStoryful

Friends Tick Off Bucket List With Blindfolded TattoosStoryful

Kylie Jenner's First Selfies Since Pregnancy Story BrokeWochit

'Teen Mom' Star Jenelle Evans Is Married — See Her Wedding Pics!Wochit

Ryan Seacrest Weighs In on Kylie Jenner Pregnancy RumorsWochit

Idina Menzel Marries Aaron LohrWochit

Additionally, the event benefitted from exceptional, eclectic bookings. Featuring a lineup so dynamic it would put most other local music festivals to shame, Noise Pop truly dominated the challenge of building an inclusive artist roster at a time when so few festivals are doing so. To this date, even the biggest one in the area, Outside Lands, has never booked a female-fronted headlining act. Noise Pop had two, just this year.

The week's most anticipated acts varied immensely by genre. Kamasi Washington, a jazz saxophonist who grew to recognition after his recent work on the exceptional Kendrick Lamar album "To Pimp a Butterfly," sold out two subsequent shows at the Independent. Washington played with a balance of aplomb and humility, peppering songs of fervid, winding solos with anecdotes about friends and family who joined him onstage. If there's one person who can usher the young generations back towards a more widespread appreciation of the intricacies of jazz, it's him. "Change of the Guard" the opening number of the concert (as well as his album, "The Epic"), was something not easily forgotten.

Carly Rae Jepsen, one of the fest's headliners, was also an easy favorite, thanks in part to her release of one of the best albums of 2015, "Emotion." Jepsen has herself matured her sound since the massive success of "Call Me Maybe," and the crowd at the Warfield on Saturday night knew it — literally, word for word. The audience was packed with lightfooted, dancing fans who all knew the lyrics so well, they almost drowned out Jepsen herself. But it's no wonder she's so adored. Her success hangs on her candor, which is a rare quality when so many pop superstars are so heavily manufactured. While the more mainstream booking might have seemed a little out of character for the festival, it was welcomed; the divergence from tradition was a fresh twist.

But Noise Pop was not without its hiccups.

Despite that his shows were considered a hot ticket around town, Vince Staples (in his Friday Social Hall performance) fell short. The Long Beach rapper's vocal delivery never wavered, but his set lacked the heart his album promised. Later that night, surf rock indie darlings Cayucas failed to channel the carefree fun of their record's sound.

There were other breakouts too. French Cassettes, a group from San Joaquin County opening for Cayucas, slung neat, compact pop rock cuts effortlessly at their Friday show. Shoegaze group Ringo Deathstarr was met with high praise, and Kneedelus performed their loose-leaf jazz inside the glass-encapsulated SFJAZZ concert space to an enamored audience.

All in all, this year's Noise Pop wasn't defined by its falterings in individual shows, but by its eschewing of convention and monotony. It was surprising at every turn (including in some instances of nice little pop up late shows at their Swedish American Music Hall headquarters), and when festivals are beginning to feel a little too cookie cutter, that's the quality that matters the most.

Alyssa Pereira is a music and entertainment writer for SFGATE. Follow her here on Twitter.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.